The Chamber of Mines of Peru calls for a solution to the demands of artisanal miners through conciliation.
Appealing to prudence and respectful dialogue, the Chamber of Mines of Peru joins the call of various sectors to solve the demands of artisanal miners in a scenario of openness and conciliation. Therefore, our institution calls for free dialogue between the Executive branch and artisanal mining.
“We hope that the willingness and disposition to dialogue on the part of the executive branch and artisanal mining leaders will open the way. With the purpose of finding a point of equilibrium that will allow a solution to a sector that requires total work” said the chief executive officer of the Chamber of Mines of Peru, Eng. Cesar Gallardo Vela.
“One of the strategic objectives of the Chamber of Mines of Peru is the joint work between the three main entities of the extractive activity: State, Company and Community. This is in favor of achieving sustainable and environmentally responsible mining. Therefore, we urge both parties to solve this controversy through dialogue”, said Eng. Gallardo.
Gallardo considers that the “new mining” promoted by the Chamber of Mines of Peru must be applied by all those involved in the sector. In addition, constant training must be provided to optimize costs in order to avoid social conflicts such as the one that occurred.
Artisanal miners consider that Legislative Decree 1244 published last October regarding the granting of legislative powers to the Executive branch. It greatly harms small-scale and artisanal mining by stiffening the penalties for punishing people who commit environmental crimes. Likewise, they claim that these new sanctions leave out large mining companies. Therefore, this only harms artisanal and informal miners.
According to the representatives of the artisanal miners, this is part of a hostilization campaign, as several of them are already registered and in the process of formalization. They also clarify that the extraction work they perform is in the undercut or vein mining. This work is different from river mining, whose activity without technical and responsible assistance would have devastating effects on nature.
This controversy would result in protest actions such as demonstrations and marches. These would take place on the days when the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC) will be held.
